


Baby Steps

by TheOneWithTheWritersBlock



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fucked Up, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rough Kissing, Self-Harm, Therapy, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 20:39:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18698746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOneWithTheWritersBlock/pseuds/TheOneWithTheWritersBlock
Summary: When the last fragments of Hydra have been destroyed, and the assassin known as the Ghost is finally apprehended, Steve Rogers must advocate on the man's behalf to keep his friends from "eliminating the threat".  He considers himself to be one of the good guys, so he can't just let The Ghost die. There has to be some shred of humanity left in him, right?Lots of PTSD recovery





	Baby Steps

The plexiglass of the cell reflected the stringy locks of dark hair that hung limply around his face, concealing the corners of what could only be described as a metal muzzle. It covered all the way from the bridge of his nose to under the man’s jaw, so tightly fitted to his face that Steve had to ask Maria if it was as a part of him as the attached mechanical limb. 

No one had wanted to get close enough to him to take it off. 

“Scary, isn't it?” 

Steve turned to look over his shoulder at Agent Hill, leaning against the doorway of the observation room, sipping on a cup of the shitty coffee from the common room. She moved closer to the glass to stare at the assassin she had been chasing for over 6 years. The Ghost. 

“What is?” he asked. Steve wasn’t sure if she was referring to the arm, the mask, or the statuesque position the man had been in for the previous 4 hours. His eyes hadn't wavered from a fixed point on the glass barrier, cold and unseeing. The behavior shook Steve to his core because it was the opposite of how The Ghost had been when they were pulling him in.

Even in all his time as Captain America, he had never seen a human show that kind of rabid ferocity. The assassin had strained against the vibranium restrains hard enough to pop the blood vessels in his eyes- using all of his super-human strength to try and get free of his bonds. There was no regard for his own body, not even flinching when the metal cut divots into his wrists. 

Which is why the mannequin act felt so wrong. 

“Just the way he doesn’t seem… like a person anymore,” Maria said quietly. Steve turned to gauge the expression on her face. She now stood at the glass, studying the captive soldier with solemn curiosity. Tracking the assassin had been Hill’s whole mission when she was assigned to Steve’s team. And now that the search was over, she just looked… well, sad seemed like a lackluster word, but there was no other way to put it. Maybe a little lost. 

He let his eyes drift back to the inside of the cell, over the rigidity of The Ghost’s shoulders. Steve was getting worried- not just for their safety, but for the man’s. Something was seriously wrong in that head.

“Do you think they’re still controlling him?” he asked softly, worried at the prospect that there could have been a bit of hydra that escaped their grasp. It was one of the things Steve was most afraid of. 

If would mean that they had failed- that the celebratory handshakes and tired smiles were for nothing. 

That another head would be able to sprout.

**Author's Note:**

> \+ I WILL NOT CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY UNLESS SOMEONE TELLS ME THEY ACTUALLY WANT TO READ IT+  
> \--> pLEASE CoMmENT   
> thanks i love you


End file.
